Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Hauls
Birthday Wish List
4
4 years
Evening all!
Firstly, I would like to apologise for my elusiveness lately. January has been an incredibly busy month for me but it seems to have dragged on forever – I’m sure many of you can relate to that feeling! On top of starting back at work after Christmas, I had an important assignment to do for my Master’s Degree this month, so I spent most of my evenings researching, writing and editing, hence my lack of blog posts. Luckily, I handed the assignment in yesterday so I’ll have a bit more time on my hands now (although I do have a dissertation proposal to complete…), so expect to see a lot more from me during February!
Hopefully February will be a bit more fun than January has been. On Sunday my fiancé and I are going to London, just for one night, but we have a lot planned. I will be taking my camera on the trip so expect a rather photo heavy post when I get back! Also, Bewitchery turns one year old on the 7th of February, which is very exciting indeed. The main event in February for me though is my birthday! On the 14th of February I turn 23, and (fingers crossed) I won’t be working that day, so I am going to spend the next couple of weeks planning fun things to do! Birthdays for me are mostly about surprises, cake and having a nice time with my loved ones, but I do have a few things on my Birthday Wish List this year, so I thought I would share them with you here…
Dr Martens Grace Denise 8 Big Eye Boots
If you’ve read this post, you’ll know that I’m a Dr Martens fangirl, and I have been lusting after this pair for months now. I recently noticed that they were in the Schuh sale, so I dropped a massive hint with my dad and I think these babies will be mine in two weeks time!
Layla Hologram Effect Nail Polish
I know I’m extremely late to the hologram polish party, but I really love the look of Layla’s hologram range, especially this Ultra Violet shade.
Real Techniques Core Collection
I’ve been after a decent set of make up brushes for a long, long time (my current set are falling apart), and lots of you lovely beauty bloggers have recommended Real Techniques’ Core Collection. I’ve done some research, and they really do look like a quality set of brushes, so these are now on my list. They pass the cruelty free test too!
Real Techniques Starter Set
Because my eyes deserve fabulous brushes too… And they’re purple!
Kate Bush T-Shirt
Kate Brush is my hero, and has been since I was tiny, so this t-shirt is perfect for me. The design is just so pretty!
Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Smother
This is one of Sleek’s newest shades in their True Colour Lipstick range. It’s an extremely pretty pinky purple colour (it’s actually a bit darker in reality than it looks in the picture), and every time I go to Superdrug I can’t resist swatching it on my hand.
Naomi x
January Sales Haul
3Since Christmas it has been January Sales galore, both on the high street and on the internet, and I (along with millions of other shoppers, I’m sure) couldn’t resist a browse. My main aim was to hunt out a couple of pairs of shoes suitable for Spring/Summer, as well as a few items of clothing. I prefer to relax with my family on Boxing Day, rather than go shopping, but on January 27th I braved it and went into town, but soon gave up as there were far, far too many people for my liking. So, that evening I sat down with my laptop, a box of chocolates and a cup of tea and browsed the web to my heart’s content. I must say, I wasn’t that impressed by the quality of the sales this year, but luckily I succeeded in my shoe and clothes buying mission! I managed to resist binging on make up and perfume gift sets in the Superdrug and Boots sales, but I did get a couple of beauty accessories.
Donnay Purple Canvas Ballet Pumps – £3.50 (£3.49 saving) – SportsDirect.com
Skechers Sunset Pink and Black Canvas Shoes – £20.00 (£14.99 saving) – SportsDirect.com
Dr Martens Aldgate Floral Canvas Shoes – £30.00 (£15.00 saving) – Dr Martens
Purple Metallic Manicure Set – £0.99p (saving unknown) – Superdrug
Unwind Cherry Stone Relaxation Pillow – £0.99p (saving unknown) – Superdrug
Purple Heart Knit Dress – £10.00 (£4.99 saving) – Store Twenty One
Blue Paisley Print Top – £5.00 (£4.99 saving) – Store Twenty One
A rather humble haul I know, but I managed to get everything I wanted! What did you get in the sales this year?
Naomi x
Fashion and Beauty Christmas Haul
6Well! After weeks of preparation – shopping, cooking and decorating – Christmas Day has been and gone, and we’re all probably a few pounds heavier than we were this time last week! I hope you all had a wonderful time, celebrating in your chosen way with the people you love, and I hope Santa brought you everything you wished for. I personally had a great time! The highlight of Christmas for me is playing games and doing quizzes with my family, and they were definitely done in abundance.
Christmas isn’t just about the presents, but I got some really lovely fashion and beauty related things this year, so I thought I would share them with you today. I also got a lot of chocolate, baking equipment, geeky stuff (including a bat detector which I’ve been wanting for AGES) and books – my friends and relatives know me well!
So, here are some of my Christmas gifts. Apologies for the strange colouring in a few of the photographs… They were taken in bad lighting!
My dad bought me this absolutely beautiful sterling silver Bat Skull necklace. He mentioned that he got it from Etsy and it was handmade in New York by an obviously very talented maker. I instantly fell in love with it when I opened the box, and in my surprise I ended up dropping the box in my mug of tea, woops! I adore bats so I am going to treasure this piece.
I also love hares, so my dad gave me this large pewter moon hare pendant as well. Isn’t it stunning? I need to find a chain for this pronto so I can start wearing it.
The dinosaur at the top was from my sister, Rex from Toy Story was from my fiancé, and the owl was from my fiancé’s sister. Owls, dinosaurs and necklaces are a few of my favourite things, so I was very pleased to receive all three of these beauties.
I received three different perfumes this year, all of which are replacements for perfumes I already have. Cacharel’s Amor Amor (one of my all time favourites), Vera Wang Princess Night, and an Accessorize Gift Set.
I didn’t get much make up this year, but my cousin gave me 17’s Smoky Eye Palette and a few little 17 lip glosses. The red gloss is gorgeous! The guy at the bottom is a rather cute owl lip balm.
How amazing are these?! My fiancé’s sister gave me these Batman nail transfers. I was so excited when I opened them and I cannot wait to give them a go. Definitely expect a review of these soon.
This cat bag from my mum was one of my favourite gifts this year. It’s big and furry and very soft – it needs to stop raining now so I can use it!
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a scarf, gloves or socks, and this year I got all three. The scarf is purple with green skulls and is nice and light – ideal for spring. The socks have squirrels on them, one of my favourite animals, and the rainbow mitten gloves are SO SNUGGLY – win!
Not the best photo in the world but my mum got me a BATMAN ONESIE! Amazing, right?
A massive thank you to everyone who spoilt me this year, I am extremely grateful. Did you get anything fashion and beauty related for Christmas this year? I’d love to see your hauls too!
Naomi x
Ciaté Mini Mani Month
31To celebrate receiving my first pay cheque from my new job, earlier this month I treated myself to one of this festive season’s highly sought after beauty products – Ciaté’s Mini Mani Month! I first heard about the Ciaté Mini Mani Month from my mum, who had seen it on QVC with a special price of £31.20. At first I thought that was a lot of money to spend on what was essentially a glorified advent calendar, but after doing some research I realised three things… 1) £31.20 is a VERY good price as the Mani Month is/was being sold elsewhere (Selfridges etc) for a lot more, 2) £31.20 is also VERY good value considering the contents of the box, and 3) I HAD TO HAVE IT! So, rather excitedly, I placed my order with QVC, and a few days later this is what I received…
The Mini Mani Month comes in a luxe, on trend Aztec-style print box. It’s hard to tell from my photographs but the box is actually quite large. It’s about A4 sized (maybe slightly bigger), and a few inches thick. It opens out like a book to reveal 24 windows inside, each of which hides a gorgeous nail treasure to be discovered on the corresponding day! There’s also a small funnel slotted inside the box, to be used with the Caviar pearls which the Mani Month features.
The back of the Mani Month box shows 21 of the 24 nail colours that the calendar contains. The other 3 are secret shades made especially for the Mini Mani Month, which adds an extra touch of excitement to opening the doors, as you don’t always know what you’re getting. I have actually watched a couple of video reviews of this, but I managed to avoid seeing the surprise colours so I still don’t really know what they are, and (hopefully) won’t until I open whichever days they’re behind!
I am yet to open any of the doors (I’m being a good girl and saving it for its intended use as an advent calendar!) so I can’t comment on the shades, but looking at the picture there seems to be a wide selection of different colours and finishes, including four bottles of Caviar pearls. Each bottle of varnish is a mini 5ml version of a classic 13.5ml Ciaté Paint Pot, and the Caviar Pearl bottles each contain 10g of pearls. Full-size Ciaté Paint Pots retail for £9, so these mini versions are worth around £4 each. At the price I paid for this, however, they work out at £1.40 each – what a bargain!
Throughout December, I will be revealing the shades behind each door in a weekly Ciaté Mini Mani Month round-up post, so if you want to know more about the nail shades inside, please keep an eye out for those. I’ll try to include as many swatches as possible too!
Unfortunately, the Ciaté Mini Mani Month is no longer available on the QVC website, and I’m struggling to find it for sale anywhere else in the UK other than on eBay, so if you want one of these for yourself you might struggle to find one I’m afraid! However, my American readers may be pleased to know that it is currently available on the Sephora website for $58.
Naomi x
Mini Nail Varnish Haul featuring Models Own and Barry M
20Hi everyone,
Just a quick post from me today as I want to share with you my recent nail varnish buys. As well as the Models Own sale items I ordered a few weeks ago, I have acquired a few more shiny pretties lately. In fact, they’re ALL glittery! It must be the time of year, what with the party season and Christmas just around the corner.
The most exciting new varnishes in my collection are three from the new Models Own Wonderland range. The range features five sparkly, wintery glitters, all of which give a different stunning effect. The three I went for are…
From Left to Right:
- Northern Lights (pink micro holographic glitter)
- Southern Lights (purple micro holographic glitter)
- Jack Frost (Blue micro glitter in clear varnish)
Aren’t they ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL?? The photos really don’t do them justice. I can’t wait to try them on! I nipped into Boots to buy these yesterday and was extremely pleased to find them included in a 3 for 2 offer, so I got all three for a total of £10, saving £5. If you want the whole set I recommend you grab these whilst they’re on offer as it works out cheaper than buying the full boxed set from the Models Own website!
The next varnish in my little haul is a new one from Barry M – Ruby Glitter.
Barry M released this shade along with a few other glitters a few weeks ago. There are quite a few in the range that I would like (especially Amethyst Glitter), but I went for this one first because I instantly fell in love with it. It consists of different sized flecks of black glitter, studded with red/magenta glitter. It reminds me of Valentines Day (my birthday) for some reason… It just has an air of passion and luxury about it! Like most Barry M Nail Paints, Ruby Glitter retails for an affordable £2.99.
The final little gem in this haul is one that my mum brought back from Portugal last week – a lush purple shade from a range called ‘Yes Love’.
This varnish is Cadbury purple with a delicate golden shimmer running through it. I’m wearing this at the minute and it looks really lovely on. Apparently it only cost a bargainous 1 euro as well, which is a miniscule price tag for such a good quality varnish.
I’ll be reviewing all of these varnishes over the coming days and weeks, starting tomorrow with the ‘Yes Love’ purple so keep an eye out. Which is your favourite so far?
Naomi x
Models Own Sale Haul and Nail Art
13A few weeks ago, to celebrate reaching a whopping 100,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook, Models Own had a 50% off everything sale on their website! As a nail varnish hoarder and a massive fan of Models Own I couldn’t pass up the chance to add to my ever-expanding collection of pretty polishes, so I ordered five bright and beautiful colours. If I was richer I would have bought a lot more, but unfortunately my budget doesn’t allow for that at the minute 
Models Own nail varnishes usually sell for £5.00 each, but in the sale they only cost £2.50.
Here are the shades I bought, also featuring some simple, fun nail art to show that I’m dotty about Models Own…
From Left to Right:
- Hed Kandi – Balearic Cool
- Purple Passion
- Orange Sorbet
- Green Tea
- Scarlett Sparkle
I love every single one of these colours and I’m so pleased with all of them. I wore Green Tea for most of the week and I was hugely impressed with it (it lasted for days without chipping) so keep an eye out for my full review which will be posted within the next few days.
I have entered the above photograph into Models Own’s Facebook competition, which involves posting a photo of your sale haul. The most creative photo will win a full refund of their order, and a set of their NEW, absolutely beautiful Wonderland nail varnishes, so I have my spotty fingers crossed!
Which Models Own shade is your favourite?
Naomi x
Unboxing: What’s In My Handbag Free Gift
6You may remember that a few months ago I posted about a new social website called What’s In My Handbag, or WIMH. WIMH is a place to post photos of what you carry in your handbag, and to share your beauty secrets with other members by tagging each product. You can also see what other people carry with them and learn about their beauty secrets in return. I joined, and was given a personal invite link to share with friends, family and bloggers, which I did, and because 25 people joined using my invite I earned a free gift! Thank you if you signed up using my invite by the way. After waiting a couple of months for my gift to arrive it turned up this morning, rather unexpectedly, which was a very nice surprise indeed. I had a job interview this morning so I needed something to calm my nerves and the excitement of receiving this helped!
The gift came in a sleek black box, and was wrapped with black tissue paper and paper pieces… Very reminiscent of Illamasqua’s classy packaging, I must say! It was also sealed with a personalised sticker which I thought was a really lovely touch.
When I ripped open the tissue paper I was met with a ‘Service Menu’ from Filthy Gorgeous. I have been wanting to try Filthy Gorgeous nail varnish for a good while so I got very excited when I saw the leaflet, and kept my fingers crossed that there was a Filthy Gorgeous varnish inside!
And now for the part you’ve all been waiting for… Here is what I found in amongst all the packaging!
As I’d hoped, my free gift contained a bottle of Filthy Gorgeous nail varnish in the neon pink shade of ‘Rosey Posey’. The varnish looks absolutely gorgeous with the lace effect on the lid and the pretty little guitar pick detail. I can’t wait to try it out! I also received a bottle of L’Oreal’s Mythic Oil. I’ve heard quite a bit about Mythic Oil and it sounds like an interesting product so I was pleased to see this in box too.
Overall, I’m very pleased with my free gift and I’m looking forward to using both things, so keep an eye out for swatches and reviews of the nail varnish and oil coming soon!
Naomi x
This Week: Collective Haul
21I had a fairly good week for bargains this week and bought quite a few fun things (despite telling myself that I wouldn’t spend anything this week!) so for those of you that like a good haul post, I thought I would share my collective haul with you.
First off, on Monday I nipped into town to buy some new boots to wear in the Autumn. I knew exactly which pair I wanted so I was in and out of Schuh in just a few minutes, which is quite unheard of! I went for these Blowfish Ranuku Boots in black which are usually £45, but I got them for £40.50 with a 10% student discount – doing a postgraduate degree does have its benefits!
It’s been quite cold this week so I’ve worn the boots a few times already and they are SO comfortable! They’re very versatile too, and look great with dresses or skinny jeans. A very good buy.
On my way to get the bus home I passed through Primark (always a mistake) and spotted this gorgeous owl scarflace. I have always loved owls, AND scarves, so I just had to have it. It was supposed to be £4 but the eyes were missing on most of the scarves so it had been reduced to £3. I can always just stick some beads on myself if I want it to have eyes!
On Tuesday I received my Avon delivery. In amongst all the items for my customers were a few goodies which I’d ordered for myself, including repurchases of my usual Glimmerstick Eyeliner and Colortrend Concealer, as well as a small bottle of Avon’s new Sparkling Senses Shower Gel (look out for it in Brochure 17). It smells gorgeous! I also ordered two nail varnishes from the new Colortrend range in Violet Freeze (which I reviewed here) and Peekaboo, and a lovely little star necklace.
Yesterday I went to see the Paralympic flame pass through Leicester with my mum, and whilst we were in town we also did a bit of shopping. For the past few weeks I’ve been checking Superdrug every few days for MUA’s new nail varnish shade, Frozen Yoghurt, but to no avail. However, I managed to pick it up yesterday for £1 (FINALLY), and I also bought an Accessorize Eyeshadow Duo for £2.22. Isn’t the packaging lovely?
The Accessorize eyeshadow was actually on offer for half price, down from £4.45, as were a lot of their lip glosses, and their nail varnishes were 2 for £5. I’m not sure when the promotion ends but it’s worth having a look because they have some really pretty stuff!
My last few items are all from Primark. As I mentioned earlier I love owls, so I couldn’t resist these £2 owly fingerless gloves, ready for Autumn/Winter. They’re so cute! And I love that they can be turned into mittens as well.
I spotted this Bambi sweater in Primark a few weeks ago for £10, but I resisted. I was surprised to see it in the sale yesterday at just £5, and luckily one of the two that I found was in my size, so I caved and bought it. Bambi used to be my nickname when I was younger so it seems quite fitting, and the soft, suede effect elbow patches are quite a nice touch.
Last but not least, another owl! This time, a purple owl print t-shirt which only cost £3. It’s quite a long, fitted tee but it looks great on with skinny jeans.
And that’s it! What have you been buying this week? Are you getting ready for Autumn yet, or are you clinging on to the summer for as long as you can?
Naomi x
This Week: Collective Haul
2I didn’t spend a lot of money this week but I still seem to have accumulated quite a lot of ‘stuff’. So, I thought I would share some of my bargain finds and little treats with you in a collective haul post!
I spent hours in town this week but I didn’t come away with much at all. I bought a hoodie, but I took it back the next day as it didn’t suit me. I also went to both Superdrug stores in Leicester, twice, to look for MUA’s new Nail Varnish shade ‘Frozen Yoghurt’, but neither had it I must keep looking! My shopping trips weren’t completely unsuccessful though. I repurchased a couple of essentials, namely a duo pack of wipes from Primark for £1 and my favourite budget Face Powder by MUA for £1, and I also picked up some NYC Nail Polish in ‘High Line Green’ (which I’ve already reviewed here), and a 10x magnifying cosmetic mirror for just 49p!
Whilst in town I also picked up this Team GB scarf from NEXT for just £5. I absolutely adore this scarf as it has such a special meaning behind it – all the illustrations in the background symbolise different things, including our Olympic Athletes, their supporters and all the Olympic sports. All profits from this scarf (and the bigger £10 scarves) go to the British Olympic Association which is a very worthy cause. I bought it to show my support for Team GB, and after yesterday’s performance I am very keen to show it off! Did you see Team GB win their SIX golds yesterday, including three in Athletics? So inspiring! All of our athletes make me so proud.
My Avon order arrived this week too. I repurchased my favourite Mango and Ginger Shampoo, but everything else is new to me. The Skin So Soft Body Cream contains Argan Oil and I can’t wait to try it. The make up bag, ANEW sample, nail varnish and lipstick that you can see were all free, and the beautiful ring trio cost just 85p! As an Avon Rep, I get a preview brochure for each campaign, which also contains sale items (which is where I ordered the rings from). The Cuticle Oil Pen that you can see was from the preview brochure and cost £2.10. It will be available for everyone else to buy in Brochure 16 
This free sample bottle of Estee Lauder Perfectionist Serum arrived in the post yesterday. I don’t actually remember sending off for it, but I think I signed up for it via a form on their Facebook page. I’m looking forward to trying it out anyway! I also got a big package of PR samples in the post, but they’re remaining top-secret for now 😉
These are one of my favourite finds of the week… I love cooking, I love Jamie Oliver, I love books and I love thrifting. Combine these things and you have a mission to find Jamie Oliver recipe books in charity shops and at car boot sales. For months and months my Mum and I have been searching but have found nothing – until today! I got a text from my mum this morning whilst she was at a car boot sale to say that she’d FINALLY found me a Jamie Oliver book, and a couple of minutes later she found another 😀 As you can imagine, I was very pleased indeed. My mum bought both books for me for just £1 each – BARGAIN.
And of course, what would a week be without some CHOCOLATE!
What did you buy this week?
Naomi xx
Unboxing my First Illamasqua Order
11Illamasqua are a brand that have intrigued me for a long time. They’re British and known for being cruelty-free, and being a British vegetarian myself I am all for local, ethical businesses. Their website states that they are dedicated to ‘self-expression through make up art’ whilst ‘challenging the conventions of the make-up industry’. I have never been one for sticking to conventions, so I was really drawn to their wide range of unusual colours and cosmetics when I discovered them many moons ago. The brand have been around since 2008, but despite my long term obsession with their make up, I received my first ever Illamasqua order today. I know I’m a bit late to the Illamasqua party, but better late than never! I don’t usually do unboxing posts as they can be a bit boring and I did only order two items from the sale that I’d been eyeing up for a while, but I thought I’d give you a sneak peek of what I’ll be reviewing in the coming days/weeks
From what I’ve seen on other blogs, all Illamasqua orders come packaged in a black cardboard box like this:
Not terribly exciting to look at, but that ‘beauty box’ element makes it feel a little bit more luxurious than receiving your items in a plain ol’ jiffy bag.
Upon opening the box, I was greeted with my receipt and a flyer about their Skin Base Foundation.
Underneath the flyer were two little freebie items. When I placed my order I was given the opportunity to add one, both or neither of the freebies to my order, so obviously I went for both of them! I was sent a 1.5ml sample of Illamasqua’s new fragrance ‘Freak’, and a booklet of their Human Fundamentalism collection which I’m really looking forward to browsing. It has some great pictures inside of different and unusual make up looks which I’m sure I can draw some inspiration from!
I tried the perfume out earlier and though it isn’t as sweet as the perfume I would normally choose, I have really taken to it. It’s also lasted a long time on my skin and smells as strong as it did when I first put it on a few hours ago.
And now, onto what I actually bought… Sheer Lipgloss in ‘Tantrum’ for £7.50 (RRP £13.00) and Nail Varnish in ‘Snap’ for £5 (RRP £13.50). I must point out that I absolutely love Illamasqua’s classy black packaging!
I’ve already swatched both products and they seem promising! ‘Tantrum’ is a gorgeous pinky purple shade, described as a ‘deep berry pink’ on their website, and ‘Snap’ is ‘rich pewter’ with a ‘shimmer finish’. But that’s all I’ll say for now! Keep an eye out for my review posts of everything, including the ‘Freak’ sample, which I’ll be doing soon
Have you tried any Illamasqua make up?
Naomi x
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